This invention relates generally to the field of mounts, chucks, vises or the like used to temporarily secure a fishhook whereby the fish hook can be rotated by a motor or other means for tying, rigging or line securing operations. More particularly, the invention relates to such mounts which secure the fishhook in such a manner that it is rotated about a central axis such that a wire leader can be secured to the eye of the fishhook, with the end of the leader being twisted to lock it onto the fishhook.
Securing a fishhook to a wire leader is a time consuming task when done by hand without the assistance of motorized equipment. To secure a fishhook, the end of the wire leader is inserted through the eye a short distance to expose a short length of wire. This exposed length of wire is then grasped by hand and wrapped around the main wire at a point adjacent the eye of the fishhook. For optimum security and proper results, the early wire wraps are more axially oriented than the latter wraps, which are more perpendicularly oriented to the central axis. The early wraps are known as haywire twists and the latter wraps are known as barrel twists. Any excess leader wire remaining after the haywire and barrel twists are formed is then snipped off. This is a relatively slow process when done by hand, requiring significant control and concentration to properly maneuver the wire. It is difficult to replicate the twist angles from one fishhook to the next, such that the quality of the connections may vary greatly even when performed by the same individual. Because one or more sharp barbs are present on the hook being rigged, and because the wire leader is thin yet strong, injuries are also common.
It is an object of this invention to provide a mount which temporarily receives and holds a fishhook in a secure manner which allows the fishhook to be rotated on its central axis in order to attach a wire leader to the fishhook, the mount being adapted preferably for insertion into a powered hand drill, for example. It is further object to provide such as mount which is simple and quick to use, requires no mechanical adjustments, tightening or the like, and which can be used with single-barb fishhooks or treble hooks of varying sizes and configurations.
The invention is in general a fishhook mount for rigging a fishhook on a wire leader, which allows the fishhook to be rotated about a central axis with the eye extending from the mount and disposed along the central axis, such that the wire leader can be secured to the fishhook by inserting the free end of the wire through the eye and then rotating the fishhook while guiding the free end down the main segment of the wire leader away from the mount and the eye of the fishhook. The mount is provided with a shaft preferably adapted for insertion into the chuck of a hand drill or similar powered rotational device, or the shaft may be manually turned in a rotational device, or the shaft may be rotated by the operator""s fingers.
The mount is structured to secure both a single-barb fishhook consisting of an eye, a shaft, a curved segment and a barb, as well as a treble hook consisting of an eye, a shaft, three curved segments disposed at 120 degrees, and three barbs. The mount has a hook receiving main body having a neck member, a treble hook shank receiving channel coaxially aligned with the central axis of the mount shaft, and a pair of treble hook curved segment recesses disposed in a cross member extending laterally from the central axis in a generally T-shaped configuration. The main body is connected to the mount shaft by an offset arm member. With the treble hook shank placed into the treble hook receiving channel, two of the treble hook curved portions and barbs extend to either side of the neck member and are detained for axial rotation by the receiving recesses, and the eye is properly positioned on the central axis.
The mount also has a single-barb fishhook shank receiving channel which is angularly disposed on the main body on the opposite side from the treble hook shank receiving channel, with the longitudinal axis of the single-barb fishhook shank receiving channel being in the same plane as the central axis. A single-barb fishhook curved segment receiving bore is disposed perpendicularly to the central axis between the offset arm member and the mount shaft. With the single-barb fishhook curved segment and barb inserted through the receiving bore and the shank placed into the single-barb fishhook shank receiving channel, the receiving bore detains the fishhook for rotation and the eye of the fishhook is positioned on the central axis. In a preferred alternative embodiment, the mount has a second single-barb fishhook curved segment receiving bore disposed in the cross member to receive the barb and curved segments of fishhook with shorter shanks.